Divination (Joker x Batman x OC)

Chapter 119

"No, no, little one," Adriana said to Arsenio as she bathed him. He kept trying to stand in the tub and she was worried that he would slip. As soon as she said the words to him, he sat down.

He picked up a toy when she turned to grab the baby shampoo bottle. She washed his hair as he played with a squishy red ball in his hands.

"Huuwayaaa..." she sang a Somali nursery song to him as she wiped the bubbles going down his forehead.

"Maaaa..." he said, looking down at the glittery ball.

"Can you tilt your head back, mi hijo?" she asked. He obeyed.

She knew that he was gifted and so did Bruce. They had gotten used to him understanding what he was asked even though Evelyn, his nanny, was shocked by it every day. As she rinsed his hair, she thought about the task she and Lucius had to complete in just a couple hours' time. The possibilities of what they would find worried her. She tried not to think about it.

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Adriana crossed the street in front of the hotel where she and Bruce lived. The streets of Gotham were busy even though it was almost ten at night. It was a beautiful, warm, late spring night. She found Lucius' car parked across the street and stepped up onto the sidewalk. She opened the passenger side door and got in quickly.

"There you are," Lucius said. 

"Sorry I'm late," she said. "I just had to wait for Bruce to get in the shower. I couldn't think of a lie about why I have to go out at this hour since he can usually hear when I get a notification or something...when I go back, I'll just tell him I was...stopping an abduction."

Lucius looked at her.

"What?" she said. "It's not a lie. I'm just not telling him that it's me doing it and not Shade. Plus...he lied to my face about this whole thing. It's me, Adriana, stopping his abduction."

"Right then," Lucius said as she put on her seat belt. "Let's go."

They drove down the streets of Gotham, lively and full of people. Adriana looked out the window at them, living their normal lives, unable to believe what she had ahead of her tonight. Suddenly, she felt incredibly nervous. She felt her knee bouncing quickly as she looked around outside. They finally made it to the shipping yard and Lucius's vehicle was let in by security automatically. They didn't stop the car or ask him to lower his windows, which were dark enough to conceal that she was also in the car.

"He might know that we were here," she said. "Bruce...he'll be notified."

"Even if he is, Bruce will only know that I was here," Lucius said. "He's unlikely to ask questions. If he does, I will have an answer for him."

"Like what?" she asked.

"The sub-basement where the Joker is being held is not the only sub-basement here," Lucius said. "There are others with storage. I will alter the logs of which one was accessed tonight. Again, he is not likely to ask about it, Adriana."

"Okay," she said, her voice shaking with nerves.

The shipping yard was expansive, and it took several minutes for Lucius to reach the exact container that doubled as an elevator down to the former Batcave. Once he parked, Adriana realized that she couldn't move. She didn't use her gift at all. Intentionally, she kept her mind guarded...totally walled off. She didn't want to know. Not yet.

"Are you ready?" Lucius asked her. "Adriana?"

"Lucius," she said, her voice frail. "I don't think I can do this."